“The seste day ayen the dom shule four aungles stonde,Blowe that this world shal quaque, with beme in here honde.Yef hit ys any soule that flet bi water other by londe,Up hit shal aryse anon ant to the dom gonge.

Alle we shule deye, be we never so proude.For alle oure toures heye, ligge we shule throute,In forstes ant in snowes, in shures ant in cloude.Of all oure riche clothes, tid us never a shroude.Whose hath don for Godes love, he may be ful stoude.

Her we haveth houses of lym ant of ston,Ant alle we shulen hem leven, everuchon;Fare we shule to a bour that is oure long hom — Nouther more ne lasse bote from the hed to ton;Ther shal rotie ure fleyshe al to the bon.

When the flor is at thy rug, the rof ys at thy neose,Al this worldes blisse nis nout worth a peose.Bote yef Jesu Cristes merci among us more were,To wrothere hele that ever we in londe comen here.To thin holy halewen, Crist, bring us alle yfere. Amen.

I stood in a dark place to overhear a little quarrel [Narrator]Of an unrighteous Body, where it lay on a bier.Then the Soul spoke miserably and with sad countenance: [Soul]“Woe to your flesh, your foul blood! Why lie you now here?

“You were quite eager in hall, when you were alive,To dispense false judgments, change two for five;Deception and treachery you created everywhere — Thus does fierce pain make me barely to thrive.”

Then the Body spoke quite faintly to that sad Soul: [Body]“Would that I weren’t filled with sin, which binds me so hard!I thought that my worldly gain would last forever;The bonds that I’m in, they’ll cast me to hell.”

Then spoke the Soul with good counsel to reveal the truth: [Soul]“Where is your haughty pride, your fancy and gray fur?Your palfreys and steeds, and all your worldly goods?You’ll not bear them with you, wretch, where you lie.”

Then said the Body miserably where it lay on the bier: [Body]“Now is come here my death, and my last day.Hand and foot I am bound so I can’t get away.Now are my days over. I expected to live forever!”

“You have lived too long! You wrought so much woe! [Soul]Always while you lived, you were false and fickle.All too much you enjoyed turning right to wrong.Hard and sharp pains now afflict you severely.”

“Wretched Soul, go away! How long will your quarrel last? [Body]Worms hold council here, with fast-binding judgments.They have cast their lot on my flesh.Many noble bodies will rot — I’ll not be the last!”

“Body, you’re not able to leap up to play and strut, [Soul]To beat wild bears, bind savage lions,Threaten poor men and steal their inheritance.Worms will eat your flesh despite all your high breeding.”

“Wretched Soul, go away! So well you can chide! [Body]I know that I’ll rot on account of my excessive pride;Worms will eat my heart, and my white sidesWill stink worse than a hound, as it will happen.”

“Wretched Soul, go away! Go where you should. [Body]Already I’m woeful enough. My bones are all bare.My house is made of earth. All is turned to despair.Though you chide night and day, I’m no longer your business.”

“Body, why didn’t you think, while you could govern yourself, [Soul]About him who made us from nothing, and what you ought to offer?For our sins, not for his own, he sold his own flesh.His body was tortured on the cross, as the prophet tells us.

“Body, confused now you lie, and I’ll explain to youWonders many and plenteous before Doomsday befalls.The one who’s alive will hear it and seeThat the world will be destroyed, stones break into three.

“On the first day there will spring up like blood a red dew,Which will spread through this world, removing gladness and glee;The green wood will bleed, that accompanied Christ himself.Then well is he who has been good and true.

“On the next day fire will burn all that stands before it;No water may quench it, nor may anything stop it.The world will be entirely on fire, and these broad lands too.Then our Lord will say, ‘Such are my signs.’

“On the third day a flood will flow, covering all this world,The river will swell both high and low,Higher by a mile than any hill on earth.Well is he who is true during all that time.

“On the fourth day a wind will blow; as long as it lastsCastles will fall down, both halls and chambers.The hills will be made level with the dales.I call him a lord who then can escape misery.

“On the fifth day he comes indeed! Every creature who is alive Holds his head toward heaven And thinks it a wonder what this betokens, And wants to cry out to our Lord — But they don’t have the power to speak.

“On the sixth day four angels will stand before the judgment,Blow until the world quakes, with trumpets in their hands.If there’s any soul who wanders by sea or by land,It will arise immediately and proceed to judgment.

“On the seventh day there will arise, as the Book told us,Both young and old in their conditions of thirty winters — The same length that God lived. One must be very steadfastWhen Jesus Christ comes to exact his stern judgments.

“There we may neither chide nor have bold words;The angels will tremble, whom Christ shaped with his hand,As will the twelve apostles that went with Christ on earth,And all Christ’s chosen who never loved sin.

“Then will our Lord speak to Saint Mary,Carrying on his back the cross that stood on Calvary,And showing us his feet and hands all bloody.For our soul’s nourishment he suffered death.

Then says the Soul, “Wailaway!” And finally: “Alas, [Soul]Body, woe is the time when you were born!You will hasten to hell for your sins,And suffer harsh pains with that wretched Judas.”

The Soul makes such complaints to the Flesh, [Narrator]And thus they depart with much regret:The Soul into hell, and that’s not a lie;The Body to the earth where it rots endlessly.

While he was in the world, he had friends and kin.When he is buried underground, all cold is his inn.The worms sit on his breast and eat from his chin.He hasn’t a friend on earth who thinks upon him.

All this world’s pride and all this world’s wealthMight not extend a man’s life by even a day.

Were there any on earth who might escape death,No man would die who had any counsel;Unless he were miserly, he would with his propertyProtect the body and head from death.

Jesus Christ himself is so courteousThat for us he suffered death, as the Book says.

We all will die, be we never so proud.For all our high towers, we will lie in plain view,In frosts and in snows, under showers and clouds.Despite all our rich clothes, not a shroud falls to us.Whoever has acted for God’s love, he may be full noble.

Here we have houses of lime and of stone,And we will relinquish them all, every one;We will travel to a bower that is our lasting home — Neither more nor less than from the head to the toe;There will our flesh rot entirely to the bone.

When the floor is at your back, the roof is at your nose,All this world’s bliss is not worth a pea.Unless Jesus Christ’s mercy be greater among us,We on earth will always come here to an evil outcome.To your holy saints, Christ, bring us all together. Amen.

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